Volodomyr Zelenskyy has 'huge balls' for standing up to Vladimir Putin, Ukraine boxer Oleksandr Usyk says

• The Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua rematch takes place Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
• Ahead of the bout, the Ukrainian boxer Usyk spoke briefly about the realities of war against Russia.

Volodomyr Zelenskyy has "huge balls" for standing up to Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk told the Evening Standard ahead of his heavyweight boxing showdown Saturday against Anthony Joshua.

"The president does not just support me, but the whole country," Usyk told the UK publication.

"When Russia invaded, he didn't run away. What do you think people like me thought when we saw him acting like this? Everyone realized he had huge balls, that we had to go and fight for our leader."

One of the biggest fights of the summer

Usyk wrested three of the division's major championships away from Joshua's waist with a virtuoso performance in London last year.

The two-weight champion was contractually bound to a do-over, with the rematch heading to the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.

It is one of the biggest fights of the summer, but it is one that has been hit with delays.

An ongoing conflict in Usyk's home country has not been helped — a conflict he returned to help with, roaming the streets with a machine gun, as per a report in The Telegraph.

One of the country's leaders did not mind Usyk leaving Ukraine to fight Joshua for a second time as Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said he'd instructed the boxer to deliver a special message in the build-up to the bout, to shine a light on what Ukraine is going through as it fends off Russian aggression.

'I just want to see my kids,' Usyk said

The reality of war is something that has become increasingly apparent, as Usyk said he has not seen family members for months.

His friends update him about life in Ukraine while he's away. His wife, who he had not seen for a long time, surprised him by making the trip to Saudi Arabia herself.

Usyk has three children, and one of his daughters, Elizabeth, gave him her favorite soft toy to stay by his side in her place while they are separated. "It sleeps with me," he said of the cuddly toy to the Standard.

It's "always close and she told me to take it to my media event."

He said he does not know whether the toy will be in his corner while he fights Joshua, but it will at least be in his dressing room.

'I want to hug them'

"I just want to see my kids, who I have not seen properly for almost half a year," he said. "I want to see my mum. They are all now in Europe. I want to hug them."

The Usyk vs. Joshua rematch will air on DAZN and PPV.com in the US.